Extending and measuring the quality of fresh-cut fruit and vegetables: a review

D. Rico, A. B. Martín-Diana, J. M. Barat, C. Barry-Ryan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

851 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The market sales of ready-to-use fresh vegetables have grown rapidly in recent decades as a result of changes in consumer attitudes, especially consumption of fresh-cut lettuce and carrot due to their use in prepared salads. Chlorine solutions have been widely used to sanitise fruit and vegetables in the fresh-cut industry. However, the association of chlorine with the possible formation of carcinogenic chlorinated compounds in water has called into question the use of chlorine in food processing. There is a real need to find alternatives for preservation of fresh-cut fruit and vegetables in order to improve the efficacy of washing treatments. Alternatives or modified methods have been proposed, as antioxidants, irradiation, ozone, organics acids, modified atmosphere packaging, whey permeate, etc.; however, none have yet gained widespread acceptance by the industry. For this reason the development of alternatives and markers in order to measure the efficacy of these alternatives are needed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)373-386
Number of pages14
JournalTrends in Food Science and Technology
Volume18
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2007

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